In the automotive interior industry, for example, it is known that handles may be associated with interior trim components. Conventional interior trim component handles are typically molded into a desired shape with a material including, for example, an oil-based, synthetic resin.
During the molding of a conventional handle, a significant amount of wasted material may be blown through and out of a mold cavity. Due to recent increases in global demand for oil, businesses are more inclined recycle oil-based materials that are wasted in a molding operation. Accordingly, additional time and energy is usually spent in a recycling process by subsequently (a) grinding the wasted material into smaller particles and then (b) melting the ground particles for subsequent injection into the mold cavity in a subsequent molding operation.
Further, in the design of conventional handles, denser/heavier materials may be selected to ensure that the denser/heavier material is completely blown through and fills the mold cavity during the molding operation. However, such denser/heavier materials may undesirably decrease fuel efficiency of a vehicle due to the fact that the handle may increase the overall weight of the vehicle.
In view of the above drawbacks and for other reasons, a need exists in the art for an improved handle as well as an improved efficiency over conventional methodologies for manufacturing the handle in order to eliminate or reduce waste material and/or the recycling process.